


It Goes Something Like Demeter

by pyromanicofthesea



Category: Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson
Genre: M/M, Moominmamma has a brief cameo, The idea for this was sparked by a five second interaction, Written in a day, and don't forget the sweet sweet pining, god!Snufkin, haven't done that in a while, there's some wholesomeness at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-16 05:43:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18685291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyromanicofthesea/pseuds/pyromanicofthesea
Summary: Snufkin, who has hid his godly nature for years, might have to rethink his approach to his relationship with Moomin, a mortal.





	It Goes Something Like Demeter

Ever since he could remember, the seasons followed on the heels of his shoes. All weathers, all patterns, except the frosty snow. There was snow throughout the lands that Snufkin was not present in, and for that reason he traveled a great deal so the areas under his charge saw the seasons every year. That was how it was for all of his siblings, of whom had the same abilities due to their father but were looking after the seasons of other lands. At least, that’s how it was until he met Moomin. Ever since then, beyond the Lonely Mountains there were long winters and short summers, with cold autumns as well. Moomin Valley was the only place in the region that had a three-month winter. That was how it went, though, and despite favouring his time with Moomin more than anything, Snufkin made sure to leave eight months after returning so that the other places in the region were not deprived of their springs and summers and autumns. Many people, including the Moomins, relied on the change in seasons for their hibernation schedule, and thus relied on Snufkin coming and going.  
Knowing that Moomin would be asleep during Snufkin’s absence didn’t make things any easier, especially not when Moomin found out Snufkin left Moomin Valley every winter. It was difficult knowing Moomin would be sad about Snufkin leaving, but it was still something he had to do. Besides, Moomin would be asleep all winter. Moomins hibernate. It wouldn’t be fair for Snufkin to take that natural process away without request, and Moomin couldn’t request what he didn’t know about. After autumn came winter, and after winter came spring, and that was the pattern that meant after autumn Snufkin would need to travel south.  
He just wished he could tell all this to Moomin so his friend would understand that he really could not stay. But gods and magics and such were not well-known in this region, and Snufkin was afraid of what Moomin might think if he knew. He was greatly afraid of Moomin feeling obligated to treat him differently. He liked the relationship he had, he liked how normal and human it felt, and he didn’t want to lose that.  
He always thought about it the most when the end of autumn was approaching.

“Snufkin, I made you something,” Moomin said from outside of the tent, holding out the scarf as if the tent would open up from the offering. Snufkin peeked out from behind the flap doors, hat appearing before his face.  
“Oh? Oh!” He saw the scarf in the same moment he inquired. “Oh Moomin, what a lovely scarf. You made this?” He took the scarf and rubbed the fabric between his fingers. It was wool, and in a display of appreciation, Snufkin made a show of spinning it around his neck as he himself spun on the tips of his toes. His normal scarf was now hidden beneath his new one.  
“Well, Snorkmaiden helped at first, but I got the hang of it after a few hours,” Moomin replied, stifling a giggle as Snufkin twirled.  
“I love it, Moomin. It’ll be a great reminder of you during the winter.” Snufkin’s smile was warm, and it almost chased away the heaviness in Moomin’s heart. Almost.  
“Do you really have to go every winter?” They had this conversation near the end of every autumn, and near the end of every autumn the answer was always the same.  
“Of course I do. I was born to travel, and I don’t want to be tied down somewhere forever.” Snufkin knew that was only half of the truth, but he was too afraid for Moomin to find out the main reason he wouldn’t stay even one winter. Other places needed to start their spring soon. “I promise, I won’t leave until you’re asleep, and I’ll be back before you wake up. It’ll be like I wasn’t ever gone.”  
“You promise you’ll be back before I wake up?” By now, the two were sitting together outside of Snufkin’s tent, Moomin’s head leaning on Snufkin’s double-scarved shoulder, while they spoke.  
“First day of spring, just like always,” Snufkin replied with cheer. His smile mirrored his tone, and it was no doubt the scarf from Moomin was keeping his mood so bright.  
First day of spring, just like always.

It was what should have been, according to the calendar and a rather insistent Little My, the fifth day of spring. There was no sign of Snufkin though, and no sign of the warm spring sun either. The weather on the mountains was too foggy to see, and despite being a god of seasons, there wasn’t much Snufkin could do about season-typical weather patterns. It made it dangerous to cross the mountains, and he had to go slowly to keep moving. He was near the base of the mountain on the fifth day of spring, but there was still a day’s walk left before he would reach Moomin House. Moomin didn’t know of this though. He just knew that it should be spring, and Snufkin should be back, but there was a very distinct lack of sun and Snufkin in Moomin Valley.  
“What odd weather for this time of year,” Moominmamma said as she poured Moomin a cup of tea. He looked into the warm cup as the snow fell outside, but he didn’t feel much up for drinking it.  
“I hope Snufkin’s okay,” he said in a quiet voice, eyes not looking up much beyond the curve of his snout. It was obvious how worried Moomin was about his friend, and Moominmamma put a reassuring hand on Moomin’s shoulder.  
“I’m sure he’s alright, he’s probably on his way as we speak.”  
“But he’s never been late before! Never!”  
“He probably lost track of the days in this odd weather. I bet other regions are having some unusual weather patterns as well.” It sounded logical to Moomin, but he still didn’t like it. He missed Snufkin, and he was looking forward to getting to start his spring at the riverbank near Snufkin’s usual campsite. “He’ll be back once the snow has stopped. That’s how you tell when winter has ended without a calender, you know, Moomin.”  
“Yeah, I know, Mamma. I hope the snow stops soon.”

The snow didn’t stop the next day. At least, it didn’t until Snufkin was in town. Harmonica chipper as he walked to Moomin House, it was as if where Snufkin stepped, winter turned to spring. The clouds began to part, and the snow was melting rather quickly under the sun. Without a doubt, by tomorrow it would be as if the bulk of the slightly extended winter had never been there.  
What Snufkin didn’t know was that Moomin had gone out to meet him, seeing the cloudbreak in the far distance and running off to the road he usually came through on. It was on the side of the road, standing in the freezing snow, that Moomin saw the clouds part and the snow begin to melt around Snufkin. It was as if spring was radiating off of the vagabond.  
“Snufkin?” The harmonica stopped, and Snufkin’s eyes went wide for just a moment beneath the long brim of his hat. He steeled his composure as quickly as he could. Maybe Moomin wouldn’t suspect?  
“Yes, Moomin?” he asked, not wanting to cause suspicion. He hoped this was about his tardiness, though he really didn’t want to see Moomin upset.  
“Is the sun following you?”  
“It would appear so.”  
“Why?” That was the kicker, and Snufkin was mentally kicking himself for replying in such a, well, Snufkin manner. The one time he needed to not be so casually honest, and he’s casually honest.  
He was quiet, stuck on that question for too long, and Moomin noticed that the cloudbreak had stopped. The snow was only melting around Snufkin. He looked at Snufkin with what was interpreted as fear, but really it was just a bit of shock. Snufkin didn’t know it was only shock though, and jumped into a defense speech, the most he had ever said without thinking his words through before in his life.  
“I swear I was going to tell you one day, Moomin, really, I just didn’t know how to bring it up. It really doesn’t matter to me, it’s just something I’ve got to do. I was born into it, I didn’t ask for this. Please don’t be mad at me, Moomin, please, I didn’t want to hide this from you, really I didn’t, I just-”  
“So, you control the sun?” Moomin was a bit stunned by Snufkin’s outburst, but he was trying to make sense of everything that was going on. It was happening so quickly though, so he took his best guess. The guess was close enough, but so off that it stopped Snufkin’s waterfall of an apology dead in its tracks.  
“No, I’m a seasonal god. I control the way time and the transition between seasons interacts.” It was easy to say, but once it was in the air, it felt as if it was hanging there. Moomin took a moment to process what Snufkin said, and then met his friend’s eyes.  
“Do you bring spring?”  
“Sort of.”  
“And when you go, you leave winter?”  
“Something like that.”  
“That’s so cool.” Snufkin could feel his face grow red, and it was even more embarrassing that he was growing a tad shy from such a simple compliment. It was a huge relief Moomin was taking this so well though. “Now that you’re back, you can have a cup of coffee with me! Mamma made a fresh pot earlier this morning,” Moomin said with a smile, offering his hand. Snufkin smiled as he locked fingers with Moomin and they continued down the road.  
“Alright, but after that we should go to the forest to play. It’s still winter there.”  
“Okay, Snufkin!” Moomin looked so happy, and he was very happy. His best friend was back for the rest of the year, until the snow started again.  
“Oh, and Moomin?”  
“Yes, Snufkin?” He turned to look at Snufkin, who had stopped in the road for just a moment to get Moomin’s full attention.  
“Can you keep this between you and me, please?”  
“Of course, it’ll be our secret.” The thought of Snufkin trusting Moomin with such important information made his heart race. He knew Snufkin trusted him, but this felt like something more than even that.  
“Thank you, Moomin,” Snufkin said, and brought Moomin’s hand up to his lips, giving it a kiss in appreciation. Moomin’s fur had an undertone of pink the entire walk home.

**Author's Note:**

> This was honestly only sparked from the like five second conversation in the 90s cartoon episode 21 (I think it was 21) when Moomin wants to go traveling with Snufkin. Don't know why it ended up sparking a god AU, but it did. Deadass wrote this in like three hours, hopefully that only shows in the length of it, oops.  
> Honestly, there's no plot surrounding this besides Moomin poking Snufkin to show him what his powers are while they're alone, and Snufkin learning from Mymble (the older one) that his powers were from Joxter, not her. So, not exclusive to the 90s series, though that is the only one I've watched thusfar.  
> I could put those small plot ideas into comics, now that I think about it. Maybe.
> 
> As always, thank you so much for reading!  
> Have questions? Thoughts? Just want to talk to the author? I'm [smokedoutcoldstar](https://smokedoutcoldstar.tumblr.com) on Tumblr.  
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> 


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